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Personal Profile For Dr Lance Workman

Head of Research. School of Science, Society and Management.

DPhil [University of Sussex], BA [University of Keele].

Personal Statement:

Lance Workman teaches in the School of Social Sciences where he is head of psychology. His teaching and research interests lie in biological and evolutionary psychology. He is head of the Biopsychology Research Unit (BPU) and has published a large number of articles on biological psychology and on animal behaviour. Lance is currently involved in collaborative research with the Universities of Swansea, Glamorgan and Sussex. He is a consultant editor for the high impact international journal 'Animal Behaviour' and is on the editorial board of 'The Psychologst'. His book 'Evolutionary Psychology' (Workman and Reader) was published by Cambridge University Press in 2004 in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and throughout Europe including a French language edition.

Lance regularly works as a media psychologist, making over 700 appearances in the media since 1992. Such appearances include over 300 broadcasts for radio (including a large number for radio 4) and 80 for television where he has acted as resident psychologist for programmes on both BBC Wales and HTV Wales. He is recently acted as consultant to the BBC Science Unit advising on a TV series on the affects of light on behaviour. Additionally Lance regularly appears in both local and national press and his own research has featured on the front pages of the Guardian and the Telegraph. As such Lance has been named on the 'Media Psychologists' list of the British Psychological Society for 14 years.

Lance teaches on the psychology undergraduate programme; examples of his modules include level 2 'Biological Bases of Behaviour' and level 3 'Evolutionary Psychology'. Additionally he contributes to the level 3 module 'Abnormal Psychology'. Prior to joining BSUC in September 2003, Lance was senior lecturer and head of the psychology research unit at the University of Glamorgan (1990-2003). From 1995-1999 he was external examiner for psychology at the University of the West of England. Lance is a chartered psychologist with the British Psychological Society and an associate fellow of the society. If you would like to contact him or know more about his courses, please email l.workman@bathspa.ac.uk.

Professional Qualifications:

Associate Fellow of the BPS
Chartered Psychologist with the BPS

Membership of Professional Bodies/Subject Associations:

British Psychological Society
Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour

Teaching Specialism:

Biopsychology
Evolutionary Psychology
Clinical Psychology

Key Publications/Exhibitions/Performances:

Workman, L. and Reader, W. In Press (2008) 'Evolutionary Psychology' (2nd Edition). Cambridge University Press. Pp 470.

Workman, L. In Press (2008) Why do we take so long to grow up? Psychology Review.

Beaton, A., Suller, S. and Workman, L. In Press (2008). Differential language lateralization in bilingual and monolingual speakers: the importance of orthography. Proceedings of the BPS

Workman, L. (2008) Men, Women and Ledaership. An interview with Alice Eagly. The Psychologist. 21, 216-217.

Workman, L. (2008)Imposters at the table, with Andy Young and Karel de Pauw. The Psychologist. 21, 12-121.

Workman, L. (2007) Today's fish and chip paper, tomorrow's career. An Interview with John Bradshaw. The Psychologist. 20, 604-605.

Beaton, A. A., Suller, S. and Workman, L. (2007). Visual laterality effects in readers of a deep and a shallow orthography. Laterality. 12, 199-215.

Workman, L. (2007) Why aren't we all the same? The evolutionary psychology of personality. Psychology Review 13 (1), 7-10

Taylor, S. and Workman, L. (2007) Electronic House Arrest: What the public think. The Psychologist in Wales, BPS, 20, 6-17.

Workman, L., Reader, W., Parot, F. Gayon, J. (2007) Psychologie Evolutionniste. De Boek Press.

Workman, L. (2007) Alchemist or Zombie? An Interview with Sue Blackmore. The Psychologist. 20, 542-543.

Howes, H. and Workman, L. (2007) Male Brains and Female Brains? Has evolution led to differences in brain structure and function between the sexes? Psychology Review 12 (3) 17-22.

Workman, L. (2006). 'Language impairment gene' does not necessarily equate to 'language gene'. Behavioural and Brain Sciences. 29, 301.

Workman, L. Chilvers, L. Yeomans, H. and Taylor, S. (2006). Development of Cerebral Lateralization for emotional processing of chimeric faces in children aged 5 to 11. Laterality. 11, 493-507.

Workman, L. (2005). Evolutionary Psychology: Misinformation and misunderstandings. Psychology Review. 1 (2) 3-6.

Workman, L. (2005). Self estimates of intelligence in male and female students at old and new universities in Wales. Proceedings of the BPS 13, 2: 190.

Fuks, B., Workman, L. and Davies, G. (2004). SAD students: The relationship between self-reported levels of SAD and variation in levels of sunshine. Proceedings of the BPS 12,2, 169.

Workman, L. and Reader, W. (2004). Evolutionary Psychology. Cambridge University Press.

Workman, L. (2004). Self perception in male and female undergraduates in old and new Welsh Universities. Psychology, Learning and Teaching. 4(1), 22-26

Workman, L. (2004). Evolutionary Psychology: Concepts and Misunderstandings. Psychology Review. 10(4), 3-5.

Dunn, M., Copleston, M. and Workman, L. (2004). Seasonal variation in evasive response to predator appearance in relation to type of territorial defence used by the European robin (Erithacus rubecula). Ibis. 146; 77-84.

Yeomans, H. and Workman, L. (2003). Changing patterns of Cerebral Lateralization for emotional processing in children aged five to eleven. Proceedings of the BPS 11, 2:287-288.

Harrison, L., Workman, L. and Taylor, S. (2003). Sex differences in lateralized response to phobic and non-phobic animals. Proceedings of the BPS 11, 2: 272.

Evans, J. Workman, L., Mayer, P. and Crowley, K. (2002) Differential Bilingual Laterality: Mythical Monster Found in Wales. Brain and Language. 83; 291-299

Workman, L. (2001) Language specific effects in bilingual processing. Proceedings of the BPS 9,2:277

Workman, L. Brookman, F. Mayer, P. Rees, V. and Belin, W. (2000). Language laterality in English/Welsh bilinguals: Language—acquisitional and language—specific factors in the development of lateralisation. Laterality. 5 (4); 289—313.

Workman, L., Adam, J. and Andrew, R.J. (2000). Opportunities for visual experience which might allow imprinting in chicks raised by broody hens. Behaviour. 137:221-231.

Workman, L. Peters, S. Taylor, S. (2000). Lateralisation of perceptual processing of pro- and anti-social emotions displayed in Chimeric faces. Laterality. 5 (3); 237—249

Current Scholarship:

Book - 'Evolutionary Psychology' co-authored with Dr. Will Reader

Development of cerebral lateralisation for emotional processing in children

Field studies of song and aggression in the European robin

Student perception of personal intelligence in pre- and post-1992 Universities

Committee member of the Welsh Branch of the British Psychological Society 1990-2003.

Editorial Work:

Consulting editor for the international refereed journal 'Animal Behaviour'.
Associate editor 'The Psychologist'

Media contributions:

Between 1992 and 1998 - BBC Radio Wales as 'resident psychologist'. During 1995 and 1996 I wrote and presented two series of programmes on psychology for Radio Wales - 'Mind Matters'. In the last seven years I have written and recorded BBC Radio 4 and 5 programmes 'Science Now' 'The Acid Test', 'The Material World' and 'Big Bang'. I have appeared on numerous television programmes (including 'Kilroy', 'Ester', 'GMTV', and 'Wales Today'). My own research and ideas have featured in 'National Geographic', 'Readers' Digest' and the Guardian 'Notes and Queries' series of books. During 1997 and 1998 I appeared as resident psychologist on HTV's 'The Pulse' ten times and in 1998 I was offered a series by Radio 4 - 'Life on the Edge'. In 1999 I was contracted as consultant psychologist for a ten part series 'Understanding Psychology' by the BBC World service. In 2001 I became resident psychologist for HTV's "The Ferret on Health". I have just completed a series as resident psychologist for BBC Wales TV - 'The Biz' and continue to work as a 'media psychologist' on a regular basis.

Prizes or shortlistings:

1999 nominated for the BPS's Award for 'Distinguished Contributions to the Teaching of Psychology' by 35 final level students at Glamorgan.

2005 'Evolutionary Psychology' nominated for the British Psychological Society Book Prize

External Examiners:

1995-1999 Psychology external examiner UWE
External validator BSc Psychology UWIC 1995
External validator MSc Psychology UWIC 1997
External examiner PhD thesis on Mate Choice University of Durham 2004
External validator BSc Psychology University of Worcester Feb. 2006
External validator MSc Applied Psychology University of Worcester Feb. 2006

Other External Roles:

Consultant Editor for journal 'Animal Behaviour'
Editorial Board of 'The Psychologist'

Recent Professional Updating:

Trained in Minerva (Blackboard) Oct. 2004
Independent Chair training for PhD UWE Feb. 2006

Last Updated: 06 March 2008.

This page is created by the above named individual. The views expressed are theirs and are not those of Bath Spa University. BSU is not responsible for the content of any external sites referenced.